One TikToker named Maria (@livingplanetfriendly) is astounding viewers with a tip that helps keep fruit fresh for much longer than usual.
The scoop
All this hack takes is a mason jar and Swedish dishcloths.
In her video, Maria takes her freshly washed strawberries and layers them in the jar with pieces of dry Swedish dishcloth in between.
She then suggests closing the jar "almost all the way" and tells viewers that this hack allows the strawberries to stay fresh for weeks.
"The longest I've kept a jar in the fridge like this before they start to go bad is over three weeks!" she captions her video. "Storing them this way helps reduce food waste & save money."
@livingplanetfriendly The longest I've kept a jar in the fridge like this before they start to go bad is over three weeks! 🍓 Storing them this way helps reduce food waste & save money. #Eco #Ecofriendly #Food #FoodWaste #Sustainable #Sustainability #ReduceFoodWaste #StoringProduce #Strawberry #StoringStrawberries #Fruit #Strawberries #MasonJar #LifeHack #SaveMoney ♬ ceilings - Sped Up Version - Lizzy McAlpine
Best of all — Maria says she puts her dishcloths in her dishwasher after she finishes her berries, allowing her to reuse them over and over again.
She also says that if you aren't able to use Swedish dishcloths, any sort of dry cloth works as well.
How it's helping
It can be hard to finish an entire container of fruit before it goes bad, especially if you live alone or are the only one eating it. This hack solves the issue, saving you money by decreasing how often you have to buy produce.
On top of that, it's helping to decrease food waste. Approximately one-third of the food in the U.S. is thrown away every year, according to Feeding America.
When unused food ends up in a landfill, it releases harmful, planet-overheating methane gas into the air as it decomposes, which contributes to the worsening of extreme weather events that threaten our communities. It is also a waste of the energy and water it took to grow the food, harvest, package, and transport it.
Small actions like making the most of your produce are integral to the effort to reduce food waste — and you're not alone in your efforts.
Efforts across the country to eliminate food waste range from individual elementary school composting programs saving thousands of pounds of food waste every week to a new FDA decision allowing restaurants and food retailers to donate meals and ingredients to fight food insecurity instead of throwing them out.
What everyone's saying
TikTokers were impressed at how easy it can be to extend the life of produce.
"I didn't know this," one writes.
"Woah this is great!" adds another.
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